About Muscisaxicola frontalis (Burmeister, 1860)
The black-fronted ground tyrant, Muscisaxicola frontalis, measures 16.5 to 19 cm (6.5 to 7.5 in) in length. Males and females have identical plumage. Adult individuals have a black forecrown, also called the "front", a blackish chestnut hindcrown, prominent white lores, and a pale broken eye-ring on an otherwise ashy gray face. Their upperparts are ashy gray, their wings are a duskier shade of gray, and their tail is black with whitish outer webs on the outermost feathers. Their throat and underparts are pale gray-white. They have a dark brown iris, a slender black bill with a decurved tip, and entirely black legs and feet. Juveniles have a sooty-colored forecrown and pale buff edges along their wing coverts. This species is an Andean bird. It occurs in Peru, primarily within the Arequipa and Puno departments, and only very rarely reaches as far north as Ancash Department. Its range extends south through western Bolivia, along eastern Chile to the Maule Region, and along western Argentina to western Río Negro Province. It inhabits puna grassland and sparsely vegetated stony hillsides, and often prefers areas close to water features like bogs and marshes. Overall, its elevation range mostly falls between 2,500 and 4,300 m (8,200 and 14,100 ft), though it has been recorded as low as 1,800 m (5,900 ft). In Peru, it is found between 3,750 and 4,300 m (12,300 and 14,100 ft).
